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Let's back up a bit. I don't think you can be sure that it is your user directory that is damaged. But first, check it by making a test user account.

Go to System Preferences. Click the Accounts pane. Click the plus sign at the bottom left to make a new user and fill in the information. You can leave the password blank if you want.

Log out and then log in as the new user you created. Run your programs and see if whatever problem was there is now gone. If so, then the problem is with one of your preference files in the ~/Library/Preferences folder.

Log out of the new account and back into your original account. Make a new empty folder on the Desktop. Open the Preferences folder in your Home folder's Library folder. Choose Select All from the Edit menu. Drag all the selected preference files into the new folder on the desktop. Log out and back in. See if the problem is gone away.

Let's back up a bit. I don't think you can be sure that it is your user directory that is damaged. But first, check it by making a test user account.

Go to System Preferences. Click the Accounts pane. Click the plus sign at the bottom left to make a new user and fill in the information. You can leave the password blank if you want.

Log out and then log in as the new user you created. Run your programs and see if whatever problem was there is now gone. If so, then the problem is with one of your preference files in the ~/Library/Preferences folder.

Log out of the new account and back into your original account. Make a new empty folder on the Desktop. Open the Preferences folder in your Home folder's Library folder. Choose Select All from the Edit menu. Drag all the selected preference files into the new folder on the desktop. Log out and back in. See if the problem is gone away.

i'll try that. i went to the apple store and the tech ran tests, did stuff, and then came back with the two suggestions that either 1. i create a new account, or 2. reinstall mac osx (which he said would be best)

EDIT: ok well that worked, itunes works now. what do i do with the stuff in the preference folder?

What I do is go ahead and use my applications, and whenever I come across something that I would prefer not to have to re-enter whatever I had before, I drag that preference file into the Preferences folder. Most of the preference files just are re-created by the app, and unless you changed the prefs you won't notice a difference.

I would leave the saved folder on the Desktop for a while, and as you use your apps, if you come across one that has lost a lot of prefs that you set up, just look for its old pref file in the saved folder and drag it into the active Prefs folder, clicking OK when asked if you want to replace the "newer" file.

Since you don't know which file caused the problem, putting all of them back at once is not going to work.

What I do is go ahead and use my applications, and whenever I come across something that I would prefer not to have to re-enter whatever I had before, I drag that preference file into the Preferences folder. Most of the preference files just are re-created by the app, and unless you changed the prefs you won't notice a difference.

I would leave the saved folder on the Desktop for a while, and as you use your apps, if you come across one that has lost a lot of prefs that you set up, just look for its old pref file in the saved folder and drag it into the active Prefs folder, clicking OK when asked if you want to replace the "newer" file.

Since you don't know which file caused the problem, putting all of them back at once is not going to work.

awesome, thanks.

the apple genius bar guy could have figured this out no? took him like 40 min and he still didnt know what to do.